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Lysander McClaren
"Only the weak allow themselves to be offended by something so incredibly inconsequential as words. That's like being offended because a kitten mewed at you." Professor Lysander Remus McLaren is an NPC in the Shadow Academy campaign. He was introduced in Rock N' Roll High School (S01E02) and became a major character that same game. Professor McLaren is a cynical, jaded and oftentimes grumpy professor of the Dark Arts at Shadowcrest Academy for the Supernatural. He is a brilliant mind and extremely talented in his field of study. He is very sarcastic and somewhat confrontational and his past seems to have colored his view of the world. He is the head of House Draco and the biological father of Charli Palmer . Personality Lysander McLaren is a true werewolf and professor at the Shadowcrest Academy for the Supernatural. He is known to the student body to be cold, sour, calculating, cynical, jaded, bitter and sarcastic misanthrope. He tends to hold grudges and is extremely spiteful to those he dislikes. While not exactly popular with the student body, he is usually ranked among the highest by those in his classes and he always earns respect from those he teaches. He is an idealist living in a realist's body; he strives to establish change and upset the established order, but he understands that you have to first become a part of the system before you can change it. He rewards individuality but warns the eccentric students that they have to adhere to certain procedurs if they hope to accomplish anything. More than anything else, this strange, paradoxical view of life comes from a lifetime of crushed dreams, which have served to make him into the repressed, solitary man that he is. McLaren has a formidably brilliant mind, excelling in magic theory, alchemy and literature. His grasp of magic theory has allowed him to master several potent, low-level spells, become a more than competent alchemist and a commanding Ritual Caster; he owns several grimoires and his office is filled with jars, pouches and drawers filled with material components. He is a powerful melee combatant in his werewolf form and has mastered almost complete control of his actions while in his transformed shape. He is also extremely well-read, and is well-versed in poetry, literature (particularly Victorian novels), philosophy and history. He has a strange fondness for science fiction, especially Flash Gordon and Star Wars (which was, of course influenced greatly by the former). Lysander's genius-level intellect has allowed him to spend retain nearly anything he reads, and thanks to his propensity to read voraciously, he has become an authority on a variety of subjects, both magical and mundane. He teaches several classes at Shadowcrest, including classes that cover the strange, the esoteric and forbidden, including Dark Arts Theory, Undead Studies and Xenobiology. He also has a breadth of experience as a substitute teacher in the fields of Literature, Creative Writing, World History, Poetry & Songwriting and upper-class English classes. Because of his usually busy schedule, he interacts with a wide variety of students, so the student body knows McClaren more than they do the rest of the faculty. His detached attitude has caused many students to be afraid of him, and much of the student body has concocted a variety of strange urban legends surrounding him. He does nothing to debunk them and in fact, keeps a collection of them on 3 x 5 cards in a shoebox in his office. He sometimes reads them in his office, drinking a bottle of whiskey, quietly wondering to himself why he bothers with the ungrateful wretches that attend the school. His choice of vocation seems very strange, indeed, considering his general attitude toward people and the general workings of the system (that is to say, an almost genuine hatred) and the way the system seems to fuck over the good kids and allow the horrible ones to walk away makes him absolutely sick. However, it is for that reason that Lysander bothers at all: McLaren has stated that the only way to affect real change in any system is from within, and he is just trying to do everything he can to make a difference, despite the odds and everything that stands in his way. He is known for his cavalier and sometimes harsh attitudes toward his students, punishing them severely for minor infractions. He is also well-known to drink during class and smoke between classes. Because of his unorthodox behavior in class--including his drinking, his sullen demeanor, his blase attitude when dealing with students and often demeaning or sarcastic answers to their questions--many students feel that McLaren dislikes them or is, at best, apathetic toward them and his job. Despite this, Lysander cares about his students and wants them to succeed. He has on at least two noteworthy occasions stood up to defend students (such as at Ben's schoolboard hearing or saving Charli from Adam Hill's love potion) and always retreats into a drunken stupor when his efforts fail. He tends to be a very private man who views emotional displays as a sign of weakness and shame. As a true lycanthrope, he has mastered his emotions and is able to naturally shield his thoughts from psychic and magic intrusion. This allows him to maintain his cold, collected demeanor. However, McLaren has his limits and is not incapable of losing his temper, particularly when it comes to dealing with hotheads, rule-breakers and bullies. Inevitably, he also becomes furious if he thinks he's being pitied or blamed of cowardice. He detests when people take advantage of others, and is shown to be very defensive of students who are bullied. Lysander actually likes very few people and he gets along with even fewer, but he doesn't believe in kiss-assing or pretending for the sake of appearances. He does not offer respect to those who have not earned it, especially not to those who feel entitled to be respected due to station or name. He is often most bitingly sarcastic to these people and he is never afraid of the consequences of his words. Lysander is not affiliated with any clan today, as he was expelled from his own at the age of seventeen for losing a duel against Roderick Scrivener, a high-ranking wolf from a rival clan. While this shattered him at the time, as it meant being cut-off from his family entirely, he has grown to be secretly relieved. He hated the workings of the clans and is glad to be rid of them. As an Omega (a clanless Lycan), Lysander is seen as lesser by other Lycans, especially Werewolves. He is often not offered any respect by werewolves who are affiliated with a clan, though he is quick to offer them even less respect. Clan affiliations fail to impress him, even those who are Alphas of the pack. He is blatantly outspoken with them and often offends them. He once angered a clan alpha and nearly sent his old clan and the clan in question into war. The only thing that prevented it was the fact that Lysander is an Omega. All in all, Lysander is a bitter, sad man who lost everything and is only recently starting to truly work not only to try to make the world better, but to help his daughter avoid the mistakes he made, in order for her to have a good and fulfilling life. History ''Early Childhood'' Lysander Remus McClaren was born the oldest child of Malcolm and Robin McClaren, the alphas of the Highlander Clan of werewolves in Edinburgh, Scotland. Lysander was a fussy baby who only seemed to sleep well when his mother played the television or the radio. Lysander displayed a talent for music and rhythym very early on, often using pots in the kitchen as makeshift drums or else dancing to bad pop music on the radio. He also had a close relationship to the family dog, Lupin. He would often take the dog everywhere he went and the two shared a close, empathetic bond; Lysander often felt the dog understood him better than any human ever could. Lysander was taught from an early age the importance of family, clan, honor and strength of lineage. When his brother and sister were born, Lysander was told that he was to be a role-model and example for them, and as the years wore on, pressure built on his shoulders. When he was ten years old, Lysander met Angela Palmer, a young girl two years his senior, during a Great Moot. The two became fast friends, and his adventurous spirit attracted her to him. Her little brother, Roderick, was not as big a fan and the two soon discovered they did not get a long. They engaged in a bit of fisticuffs when Roderick told Lysander to leave his sister alone (and subsequently threw a clod of mud at Lysandr's head). Lysander was severely punished by his father for the offense, by manner of a belting. Regardless, Lysander and Angela became pen pals soon after. ''Punk Rock Werewolf'' When he was twelve years old, Lysander tried to run away to Blackmoor, taking only Lupin with him. He was caught before he got out of town. As punishment, Malcolm forced Lysander to put the dog down. Bitter and furious over this, Lysander started openly acting out and using foul language, something that got him banned from Clan meetings, much to his father's bitter chagrin. At thirteen, Lysander purchased Ramones, the Clash's London Calling and the Sex Pistol's God Save the Queen at the local record store, and they quickly became his favorite three albums of all time (they still are). He saved up for a guitar soon after and by fourteen, he had learned several difficult songs from those three albums on it. His father hated it, which of course only drove Lysander to embrace it further. He had grown to hate his position as heir to the Highlander Clan and he hated the suburban mundanity he was accustomed to. This, combined with his anger and growing bitterness, caused him to adopt the punk-rock lifestyle. This led to more arguments and fights with his father, which continued to grow with intensity and frequency over time. By the time he was sixteen, Lysander was hanging out at bars, playing loud music, smoking on the sidewalk and generally raising hell with his gang of hooligan vandals. The adventurous, charismatic, rebellious youth was something of a charmer and a rogue. He attended the Grand Moot that year against his father's wishes (in full punk-rock mode), where he voiced several very vocal, controversial opinions (like, "why don't we just do away with this whole clan thing anyway, eh? It's rubbish and it makes people hate each other. We're all wolves, after all, man"). He was not liked very much among the other wolves, especially Roderick, who was still at odds with him. Angela, however, was still quite fond of him. After a severe fight with Roderick, who had triggered his transformations by then, Lysander kissed Angela and soon after, the two began a secret relationship that lasted some time. ''Triggering the Curse ad Attending Shadowcrest'' On June 10, 1993 (when he was sixteen), he got into a fight outside a Bad Religion concert he snuck into with his mates. The fight turned very large and Lysander was forced to take a life while defending himself. This death triggered Lysander's curse. That year, he was enrolled in Shadowcrest Academy, where he was sorted into House Draco, like his father before him. Roderick was attending, as well, and was a very popular name there. Lysander hated being compared to his father all the time and he often acted out and caused mischief. Lysander was well known for being a trouble-maker; he often smoked in the halls or out on the grounds, argued with teachers, stayed out long past curfew, held little respect for the teachers and was known to have a habit of occassionally skipping detention because he "didn't feel like going". He was a popular student, although his teachers felt his behavior was bringing shame upon his family name. This only made it feel much better to be such a hell-raiser. He disliked that Angela was attending an all-girl's school outside Bristol. The two would write to one another frequently and they would even sneak out of their respective schools to abscond in secret weekend getaways. It was during one such tryst that the two imprinted on each other. Things were only complicated by his troublesome relationship with Roderick. The two were in conflicting houses (Draco and Grypus, respectively) and both were popular. This drew them into conflict often, each pranking, embarrassing and constantly trying to outdo the other all the time. Lysander hated Roderick but he loved Angela. Despite Angela's request to stop their petty feud, both young werewolves were hotheads and both refused. ''Exile'' In the spring of 1995, at the tail-end of his senior year, Roderick found out about his long-term affair with Angela and in a bout of anger, challeneged Lysander to a duel. Lysander accepted and the two met in the Great Forest and, in wolf form, engaged in a brutal combat. For all of Lysander's bravado and intellect, Roderick was the better fighter and subsequently bested Lysander. His younger brother Duncan learned of this loss and reported it to his father. After a severe punishment from his father, which included a wolfsbaned belt, Lysander was put on "tribunal" by the clan elders. He was deemed unfit for the position of Alpha for his deviant behavior and for his torrid affair with a rival clan Heir and for this and for his loss to Roderick, Lysander was exiled from the Highlander Clan, stripped of his title and honor and cast out. Now cut off from his family, the shamed werewolf dropped out of school and fled to London, where he fell into a spiral of booze and drug-fueled rage. Angela heard about what happened and came to London to see him. This resulted in a particularly passionate two weeks together where Angela helped Lysander get back on his feet and straighten himself out. During this time, Lysander and Angela became engaged, an event that absolutely changed Lysander, who began calling himself the "luckiest exile in the history of England". Lysander resolved to get a job and be "respectable" for Angela, to which she told him that she liked him just the way he was. ''Expecting'' A month later, Lysander had begun working a job as a public train attendant, moonlighting as the guitarist and vocalist for a grunge-punk band called The Wankers. On June 12, 1995, Angela came to Lysander and revealed she was a month pregnant. Shocked, he became determined to take care of the baby and quickly took a second and third job, as a janitor at a public school and as a waiter at a local diner. He vowed to save up enough money to take care of both Angela and the baby, and he was even willing to crawl back to his father for help. Angela, however, had other plans. Because Lysander came from a rival clan, the baby could potentially symbolize Lysander's claim to the Alpha-position, which could in turn lead to a civil war between the Blackmoor and the Highlander clan. Despite his insistence that he wanted nothing to do with clan politics and only to be there for his daughter, Angela tearfully told him that it was over and it had to be that way. Shortly after, she became engaged to a man who thought the baby was his and wrote a letter to Lysander asking him to never come around. Reluctantly and through bitter tears, Lysander agreed as the wealthy Gordon Palmer would be better able to care for the baby than he ever would. On December 2, 1995, he received a phone call from Roderick stating simply that "It's a girl". Lysand tried to meet baby Charlotte, but was refused. He was only able to leave her with a stuffed bear. ''World Traveler'' Bitter off the situation, Lysander left England for a time and traveled the world. He went to America, Canada, South America, Australia, Africa, China, Japan, Russia and many other countries and strange places. He has set foot on the Ethereal Plane and the Plane of Shadow, and he fought demons and other strange monsters and learned a great deal about life, death and magic. He studied under a great African sorcerer when he learned he had arcane potential, and over time, he became a talented sorcerer and ritual caster. He traveled to the tops of the Himalayas and has ventured to the ruins of Atlantis. He tamed Hippogriffs in Romania and swam with Mermaids and Dragon Turtles in Florida; he ran with wolves in Montana and exorcised Demons in Greece. During this time of wandering, Lysander became the only werewolf to be allowed entry in Las Vegas after a show of strength by dispatching a group of vampires sent to murder him and a subsequent visit to the King of the Vampires, Lucian LeStraad himself. Lysander calmly informed LeStraad: "If you wish for me to leave this city before I am ready to go myself, you're going to have to kill me, cut me into little pieces and ship me out to Scotland in a gift-wrapped box yourself. But please, do me a favor and stop sending your lackies to do it for you. It's honestly an insult to us both and a waste of time, to boot." After putting ten dollars on the LeStraad's desk "for the post", the vampire king was impressed enough that he allowed Lysander to come and go from Las Vegas whenever he pleased. Over the years, Lysander sent Charli presents and letters on her birthday until she turned fifteen, when Angela threatened to inform the police on him if he didn't leave Charli alone. ''Return to the UK'' He came back to England in the year 2004, after nine years abroad. He bought a flat in London and started taking courses in History and Anthropology at a local junior college. During a trip to Glasgow, Scotland, Lysander crossed paths with a high-ranking member of the Werebear tribe that holed up there. The werebear began taunting Lysander for being Omega, and Lysander responded with a fierce verbal assault. The alpha himself requested Lysander apologize to his lieutenant, to which Lysander responded, "I don't have time to bow to this mewling child's quivering whimpers. If a grown man is going to get his feelings hurt by my words, that isn't my problem; it points to a mental deficiency of some kind on his part. Now, please instruct your pack to begin acting like adults and, for the love of God, leave me alone." This led to two incidents where werebears were sent to "teach him a lesson". McClaren simply beat each group into submission and on the third attempt, he simply bought his attackers a round at the local pub. This bought Lysander the alpha's respect and the nickname, "The Lone Wolf". ''Professor McClaren'' In February of 2005, Lysander was approached by Alaric Oldeshaw, the Headmaster of Shadowcrest, who had heard of Lysander's extensive travels and adventures. He was asked to come to Shadowcrest to teach Xenobiology and other classes about the dark arts. Lysander was skeptical but the idealist in him began to dream about becoming a force for change at the school, and maybe he could prevent the next generation from becoming as fucked up as his own. He accepted the position without much hesitation and he began teaching that fall. While the last eight years haven't been as fulfilling as he'd hoped, he continued to trudge on and teach, despite his distaste for the politics of the school. He continued keeping tabs on Charli through brief conversations with Roderick every few months. Once in 2009, he found his daughter on Facebook and considered trying to contact her. Maybe he'd tell her what she was and that he was her father. But, after looking through her pictures and seeing how happy she was with Gordon Palmer, he rejected the idea. She didn't need to be confused and she didn't need him in her life. That same year, he was promoted to the Head of House Draco. ''Recent History'' Things went on in this way for another few years. He grew increasingly bitter and cyncical with every year at Shadowcrest and he watched helplessly as he continued to grow older and the world continued to grow colder. Then, in August of 2012, Lysander received the phone call he'd been dreading for sixteen years: "She's triggered the curse". After that phone call, Lysander took out a bottle of whiskey and a smoked two packs of cigarettes and didn't bother going to sleep. When Charli's name showed up on his class manifest that week, Lysander knew that it was true. His daughter was a werewolf and, worst of all, she was coming to Shadowcrest. Angela called him up and told him that she would only allow Charli to attend the school if Lysander didn't try to tell her that he was her father or grow close to her and he accepted. Reluctantly, he buckled down and after deciding she could never know who he was, put on his game face, unaware that this year would be the year that changed everything. Notable Accomplishments --Triggered lycanthropy (June 1994) --Attended Shadowcrest Academy; sorted into House Draco (September 1994) --Various adventures (July 1995--December 2004) --Became a Professor at Shadowcrest Academy (September 2005) --Became Head of House Draco (September 2009) --Met his daughter for the first time (September 2012) Notable Victories --Unknown Relationships with Others ''Charli Palmer'' Charli Palmer, his biological daughter, is a student in his classes. While he is extremely happy to be able to finally spend time with her, he has still spent sixteen years away from her. He is nervous about being a role-model for her, and since discovering their biological relationship, Charli has turned to Lysander even more. He does not view himself as a good father but carries on despite it all because, at the end of the day, she is his daughter and he loves her. The two have not always had a smooth relationship, especially early on, as he is usually very hard on her about grades and punctuality, and he is generally harsher on her than other students, but it has never been in doubt that Lysander cares deeply for her. He loves Charli very much and is very proud of her. He sees alot of himself in her, including her free spirit, love of punk rock, individuality, eccentric personality and her tendency to be a little anarchist and trouble maker. He sees many of the same comments of her progress reports that he saw on his own when he was her age. He admires her courage and it pains him to see her having such a difficult time with her life. He can see her life potentially going the way it did for him, and he desperately does not want that for her. While he is dour in classes with her like he is with everyone, and his outward demanor shows impatience and irritation with Charli's outbursts, he is secretly fond of their little verbal spats. Lysander has defended Charli on many occasions throughout the campaign. He fought for her against the school's first headmaster and to the school board in an effort to grant her time off to deal with her circumstances that were, as he put it, "More than any sixteen year old girl should have to bear". He also defends her physically, such as when he "went Batman" on Adam Hill after the incident with the Love Potion, and his subsequent humiliation of Dominic by smashing his face into a pie and dragging him out of the Great Hall. This was also demonstrated when he smashed Dorian Altringham into a wall when he caught the werebear attacking Charli. He also tries his best to give her good advice and to be the best father he can be, while at the same time stressing to her the important of remaining an individual while still becoming a part of the syste in order to change it. He hopes that Charli can lead a happy, healthy life and he tries his best to keep her from becoming himself. ''Angela Scrivener'' Angela is, by Lysander's own admission, his "great lost love" and the "Great White What-Could-Have-Been". Despite her being a bit older than him, the two were both raised within the clan structure, as heirs to their respective clans. The two bonded over the stress and reluctance to accept these responsibilities. Their friendship turned to passion and finally to love. He fell for her passion, her acceptance and open mind, her creative mind, her immense talent as a dancer and actress, her keen mind and gentle spirit. He loves everything about the way she moves, the way she talks, the way she smiles. Despite losing her almost twenty years ago, Lysander still loves her and has admitted that he's never loved another woman in the intervening timespan. She remains a ghost that haunts his dreams and he drinks in part because he's trying to forget what he lost. He has never stopped loving her, not for a second. Even in recent years, he would occasionally go to her community theater productions in secret. He would leave even before the bows were finished; he just wanted to feel close to her. In more recent months, since her separation from Gordon Palmer, Charli's discovery that Lysander is her father and ascendance to the Alpha of the Blackmoor Clan, Lysander has slowly started to become a part of Angela's life again. While a small part of him wants to try to reconnect with her, he recognizes this is largely a stupid, childish notion and he gives it little thought. ''Roderick Scrivener'' Roderick is the former Clan Beta for the Blackmoor Clan, and the younger brother of Angela Scrivener. He was always protective of his sister and Roderick always had some natural spite for Lysander. This often resulted in mutual enmity and quarrels, which only increased once they started attending Shadowcrest together. Lycander was always a bit more clever than Roderick, who was always stronger and a more experienced werewolf. This, of course, culminated in the duelt hat would lead to Lysander's exile and the conception of his niece. Since then, the two have leveled out toward one another as Roderick seems to feel guilty and awful about being the reason Lysander was expelled from his clan. It has been Roderick who has kept Lysander up to tabs with Charli and it was Roderick who informed Lysander that Charli triggered the curse. While they caught the occasional drink if Roderick is in Thurso or Cokeworth, the two continue to dislike each other. Since Charli's triggering her lycanthropy and the events of the past few months, Lysander and Roderick are slowly beginning to reluctantly turn to each other as the only people they really trust Charli's safety to. This is true; despite their rocky history, Lysander knows that Roderick is only werewolf in the whole UK that can keep her truly safe. ''Benedict Little'' Lysander first met Benedict in his classes in the 2011-2012 school year. Benedict quickly showed his talent and ability as a socerer and was the only first year student to enroll in both Undead Studies and Dark Arts Theory. Benedict showed a disturbing aptitude for such magic and Lysander made sure to keep a keen eye on the boy. Lysander is one of the few people to know Benedict's experimentation the previous year, and he is also the one who fought to keep Benedict in school when Oldeshaw discovered his activities. While Lysander has continually tried to keep Benedict on the right path, the young sorcerer seems intent on doing things his way, which Lysander can already see ending somewhere bad. He never really liked Benedict dating Charli, to be honest. Having knowledge of Benedict's past that he did, he was always afraid Benedict would hurt Charli in a fit of rage or maybe his dark magic experimentation would somehow taint her. While things went well for awhile, his fears were confirmed when Benedict threatened her during a fight while he was using Blood Magic. Furious, Lysander tried to have him expelled, but Bentham agreed to just send him away to India for "Blood Magic Rehab". Since Benedict returned to Shadowcrest, Lysander has been keeping an even closer eye on the boy. ''Finn Bard'' Lysander has little opinion of Finn one way or the other. He didn't have any classes with him and he only knew him as Benedict's little friend. Since the psychic began dating Charli, he was pleased to see the two having a simple, happy relationship. While his opinion of the psychic swayed toward the positive, his feelings toward him are neutral again since Charli broke up with him. ''Charles Bentham'' The former headmaster of Shadowcrest until his recent disappearance, the Inevitable Charles Bentham was always an enigma to the werewolf. While he favored him immensely over the previous headmaster, Alaric Oldeshaw, something never quite settled with Lysander. While he is one of the few people to know Bentham's true nature as an Inevitable, Lysander never quite trusted him. It's true that he was thankful that Bentham was so kind to Charli, but he will never forgive the Inevitable for bringing Charli into his cosmic conflict and ruining her life like he did. In a way, Lysander blames much of Charli's struggles on Bentham and he is secretly happy he's gone. ''Cameron Dogherty'' A student in his own House Draco, Cameron is arrogant, entitled and cruel. He believes that since he comes from money that he can do what he pleases, an attitude that McClaren rarely does anything to enforce. Lysander tries to punish him when he can, but Cameron's inflated ego makes him unable to recognize that he did something to deserve it. Despite his father's influence in the school, Lysander enjoys putting Cameron in his place and Lysander refers to him as a "horrid, wretched thing". ''Thomas Munt'' Lysander recognizes a lot of himself in Thomas Munt, a young Warlock from Bristol who acts as an information broker, pot dealer and otherwise collecter of illicit goods. Lysander knows full well about Munt's activities but he has neglected to report him to the school board, as a part of Lysander respects the Warlock's ability to carry on without getting caught. More than that, Lysander respects Munt's individuality and enterprising nature and he sees Munt as one of the few students to go through Shadowcrest without having their lives repressed and dreams crushed. Since Munt has started carrying on with Charli, however, things have changed. His daughter seems quite fond of Munt and the two are seen together all around campus. Lysander, however, does not want Charli involved with a drug dealer and a scoundrel like Thomas Munt. While he recognizes that Munt's performance in school has improved somewhat since he and Charli began "hanging out", he also recognizes that Charli is in danger of ending up pregnant and alone. As such, he is determined to either straighten Munt out, if the two insist on becoming involved. He knows it's a bit intrusive and exactly what his own father would have done, but he supposes that one has to become a manipulative wet blanket once their children are involved. Powers and Abilities Lysander is a natural werewolf and a talented mage. In addition, he has receives a great deal of both mundane and magical training. '--Arcane Magic:' Lysander is very skilled in the practice of arcane magic, otherwise known as "black magic". He is able to manipulate the subtle, esoteric energy that flows through every living thing to cast spells that have particularly flashy and potent effects. He uses a Spellbook, Wand and a Bonded Ring to aid and help focus his spellcasting. '--Alchemy:' He is an able potion-maker, and is regarded as the second-finest at Shadowcrest. '--Ritual Casting:' McLaren can use a Ritual Book to cast complex rituals, which create several potent magic effects. '--Tattoo Magic:' Lysander is proficient with the dark art of tattoo magic, though he does not practice. '--Boxing:' Lysander is extensively trained in the boxing fighting style. He has earned gold mittens among the inter-clan boxing tournament when he was sixteen. As an adult, he is still a skilled and dangerous opponent. '--Dark Arts:' McLaren is well-read, knowledgeable and keenly interested in dark magic and other forms of black magic. '--Multilingual:' Lysander can speak English, Gaelic, Latin, Greek and French. '--Music': McLaren is a skilled guitarist, a competent drummer and a trained singer and was once in a punk band, in high school. '--Lycanthropy:' Lysander was born a true werewolf. This is a hereditary curse triggered when a person first takes a life. Once triggered, the individual gains several supernatural abilities (as well as weaknessess, see below). Lysander, as a werewolf, is able to transform from a human form into a humanoid, anthropomorphic-lupine form. This form is bigger, stronger and is extremely fierce and savage. In his lupine form, Lysander has a stunded snout, fangs, razor-sharp claws, yellow eyes and shaggy brown hair, with no tail. After years of training, he is no longer bound by the full moon and can assume this form at-will, and he can also retain control of his actions in this form, for the most part. His strength as a werewolf waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon, with his peak strength being around the full moon, while he is at his weakest during the new moon. '--Enhanced Strength:' McLaren possesses enhanced levels of strength for his size and build. While transformed, his strength reaches superhuman levels. He is an able combatant, trained in several varieties of unarmed combat. '--Enhanced Speed:' McLaren is much faster than your standard human but not supernaturally so. His speed increases during transformations. '--Enhanced Durability:' McLaren is able to shrug off wounds and injuries that would cripple a human. In addition, his injuries heal much quicker than a human's. '--Lupine Speech:' Lysander, due to his bloodline, has the natural ability to communicate with Blink Dogs, Wargs, Crups, Winter Wolves and other magical canine creatures. He also has a natural empathy for natural dogs and wolves. '--Superhuman Senses:' Lysander's senses (hearing, smell, sight, and touch) are enhanced to truly superhuman levels. For example, he is able to determine if somebody is lying by listening to subtle fluctuations in heartbeats and smelling the fear pheromone. He can also smell fear, anger, sexual arousal and other emotions by changing levels of hormones and pheromones. He is also able to see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim lighting. His sense of taste is much weaker than other lycan's, however, from decades upon decades of constant chain-smoking, dulled past that of a human. Paraphernelia Lysander carries a few items of significance on his person. '--Bonded Item:' This magical implement is the engagement ring he purchased for Angela, turned into a necklace. He uses this ring to channel and focus his magic. He always wears it on a chain around his neck, tucked into his shirt. '--Flask:' This silver flash is usually filled with alcohol but is sometimes filled with holy water. '--Grimoire:' Lysander has several of these ancient tomes that are filled with powerful magical rituals and other potent. '--Revolver:' This small revolver is loaded with silver bullets and is only used in an emergency. '--Silver Knife:' Lysander has carried this specially-made silver switchblade since he was seventeen. '--Spellbook:' This special book is filled with complex arcane spells. '--Wand:' This magical implement is made of Oak, is eleven inches long and has a Dragon Heartstring core. It is Inflexible, like him, and is good for Conjuration. Weaknesses Lysander also has several weaknessess clever opponents can employ against him. '--Decapitation and Dismemberment:' While exceedingly difficult to do, McLaren will die if you remove his head, heart or other major organ. '--Iridum:' If a weapon made of iridium pierces McLaren's heart, it will kill him instantly. Injuries made form an iridium weapon do not heal properly and often scar, sometimes resulting in a poisoning that is lethal to a lycanthrope. '--Magic:' Lysander is vulnerable to all forms of magic and its effects. '--Misanthrope:' Lysander is bitter, jaded, cynical and often very dour and negative. '--Psionics:' While Lysander is resistant to psychic attack, he can still be hurt by them if the psion is powerful enough. '--Self-Destructive:' Lysander hates himself and often engages in harmful behavior, such as binge-drinking, chain smoking and reckless endangerment of his own being. '--Silver:' Silver is lethal to any lycanthrope. While touching it won't burn him or harm him in any obvious way, he can be killed if a weapon made of silver pierces his heart. Additionally, silver slows down his healing factor, causing wounds to heal slower which often leads to scarring. '--Wolfsbane:' This rare herb, also known as "Monkshood", can be used to hide one's scent from Lysander. It can also be used as a weapon, as touching it to his skin will burn him horribly. Wolfsbane can also be used to taint a water source, which will burn like acid. Ingesting enough of it in either flower, paste, liquid or aerosol form will incapacitate him for several hours. Notes --Lysander's play-by actor is Dylan Moran. --Lysander is the second werewolf teacher in the Shadowfell campaign setting, after Gregory Dean. --Lysander McLaren is based loosely off Severus Snape from Harry Potter, Erik Haight from North Central Michigan College and Bernard Black from Black Books, among others. --His last name is inspired by the name of the bar in'' How I Met Your Mother''; "MacLaren's Pub". Trivia --Favorite animal is the Rhinocerous. --Still owns and sometimes wears a jean jacket, which he insists is hip. --Lysander is a lapsed Anglican. --Favorite movie of all time is Clerks. --Favorite food is Pizza. --Hates lime-flavored anything. --Once played golf with celebrity Matt Damon, who is secretly a true werewolf himself. He was pretty cool. --Lysander only listens to music on vinyl. --Favors whiskey and scotch. Detests tequila, although he will never refuse a shot. --Favorite color is black. In fact, he is almost always seen wearing either the same black suit or he has a large variety of similar black suits. --Favorite bands are Dead Kennedys, The Sex Pistols, Bad Religion, Queen, Portishead, The Ramones, Arctic Monkeys, The Smiths and The Clash. He HATES the band Oasis. --He has a tendency to refer to people by their surnames; for example usually referring to Ben as "Mr. Gorski", Charli as "Miss Palmer" and Cameron as "Mr. Dogherty". 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